The present invention relates in general to a new and useful clasp or clutch for the post of an earring for pierced ears or other ornament such as a tie tack or other pierced body ornament.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,378 to Karmeli et al. discloses a clasp for an earring post with a C-shaped resilient pincer disk which engages the post. A washer with a hole therethrough is stacked with the pincer disk and both the disk and washer are held within a resilient elastic holder. This patent will be referred to herein as the ""378 patent and is incorporated herein by reference.
It is known to provide a post for ornaments to be worn on the ears such as earrings, which are straight and extend through a hole in the ear. It is also known to hold the post on the ear by placing a clasp, clutch or clamp onto the end of the post. The ""378 patent illustrates various conventional clasps for the post of an earring. The clasp on one of the prior art structures, includes a disk-shaped base to which it is connected, for example by soldering, a curved double-armed loop of springy metal which has arms that engage opposite sides of the post end.
Another known clasp has a disk with a hole therethrough for receiving the post, and a pair of spring-loaded and complex pushbuttons to engage and release the post.
Another conventional design utilizes a bulbous catch which has an opening therethrough and internal compression parts which squeeze against the post to hold the clasp on the post.
A need remains for an inexpensive and effective ornament post clasp which also improves the clutch of the ""378 patent by providing a positive mechanism for engaging and disengaging the post while avoiding the cost and complexity of the known push-button clasps.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clutch for an ornament post which comprises a pincer disk made of resilient material and having an opening therein defining a pair of pincer arms that are connected to each other by a resilient bridge. The arms each have a pincer surface adapted to engage the post so that the pincer surfaces of the arms are on opposite sides of the post when the disk is in an engagement position on the post. The bridge has a resiliency for biasing the arms toward each other and for biasing the pincer surfaces against the post, the disk having an open position with the pincer surfaces spaced a part for receiving the post therebetween, and at least one engagement surface spaced from the pincer surfaces. A wedge is engagable with the engagement surface and movable with respect to the disk for moving the disk between the engagement position and the open position and a holder receives the wedge and the disk and holds the wedge for engagement with the engagement surface of the disk. At least part of the wedge extends beyond the holder and defines an activation button to be pushed for moving the wedge with respect to the disk.
Although most commonly used for the post of an earring for pierced ears, the clutch of the invention can be used for a post of an other ornament such as a tie tack or other pierced body ornament.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a clutch wherein the holder has a hole therethrough which is aligned with the pincer surfaces for receiving the post. The holder comprises a housing for containing the wedge and disk, the housing having a passage for the activation button on one side, and a projection of a shape similar to that of the button on an opposite side. The holder may include a closing plate engaged with the housing for defining a space for the disk and the wedge, the plate having a hole therethrough aligned with a hole in the housing and together forming the hole in the holder for the post.
According to a further object of the invention, a washer is provided in the housing space and is engaged against the disk and wedge for maintaining alignment of the disk and wedge.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.